


Stage Fright

by melblue



Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: Humor, M/M, Romance, Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-07-16
Updated: 2011-07-16
Packaged: 2017-10-21 10:48:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/224346
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melblue/pseuds/melblue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chakotay is fairly sure the entire population of the Delta Quadrant is sexually depraved and completely insane. He may be right.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: These characters are the property of Paramount-Viacom. I just borrowed them and am not writing for profit.
> 
> Author's Note: I think I wrote the first chapter of this back in 2007 and then kind of forgot about it. Recently, I rediscovered it and finished it!

Of course, it _had_ to be Tom Paris.

Chakotay's head was throbbing in dull pain, but he still managed to roll his eyes in bitter resignation at the sight of Voyager's chief pilot lying unconscious on the floor beside him.

Why was it that whenever something went wrong on an away mission, Tom Paris was surely involved? Unfortunately the trouble always seemed to involve someone else as well, and this time it looked liked being Chakotay's turn, and spending any kind of time with Tom Paris was Chakotay's least favorite entertainment. It wasn't that he loathed Tom Paris, although at one time he'd certainly felt strong contempt for him, it was just that the brash pilot often irritated him. Surely, all that arrogant confidence couldn't be real but Tom's mission in life certainly seemed to be to convince the world that it was.

Carefully, Chakotay dragged himself onto his knees and crawled towards the wall, slumping against it in exhaustion. Its coldness was a complete relief to his aching body and he pressed against it gratefully. His head was finally beginning to clear, and soon he'd try to remember what on earth had happened to them.

It seemed wishful thinking, under his current circumstances, but Chakotay tapped his communicator anyway. As expected, his request to speak to the Captain was met with silence and Chakotay rolled his eyes in resignation, then immediately regretted the action as even this small movement caused his head to throb sickeningly.

A soft groan came from the body on the floor and then Tom Paris jerked upright. A second later he collapsed sideways, moaning loudly.

"Take it easy, Paris," Chakotay's voice sounded like a raspy saw, painful to his tender ears. "If your head feels anything like mine, you're going to need to get up very, very slowly."

"Mmmph," came the reply.

After a few moments, the body moved again, slowly and carefully rising to a sitting position. Chakotay's gaze met bloodshot, blue eyes in a pale face, and he hoped he didn't look as bad as Paris. But he suspected he did.

Tom Paris cleared his throat. "What happened?"

"I assume we've been taken prisoner," Chakotay replied. "What's the last thing you remember, Lieutenant?"

Tom's brow creased thoughtfully and Chakotay waited. "I'd been with Kes and Neelix, talking to one of the Flartlings. I remember seeing the Captain leave with the President; I went to get a drink, some Flartle gave me some pink fizzy thing, and then… bam… nothing. You?"

"Pretty much the same, including the pink fizzy thing. I guess there must have been something in it."

"Does that mean the rest of the away team have been captured as well?"

Chakotay pondered for a moment and shook his head, wincing as he immediately regretted the movement.

"Can't say for sure, but I don't remember seeing any of those pink fizzy things around earlier. Maybe we're the only ones who got them."

"So, what could they want with us?" Tom asked, slowly. "I don't understand this. We were getting along with the Flartlings, and they certainly seemed happy with the trade we'd made."

"Hmm, I know," Chakotay murmured.

They sat for a while in silence, wondering what had happened and waiting for the aches and pains to subside. Chakotay took the time to examine the small cell they were sitting in. There wasn't much to see in the dim light that seemed to have no source. Grey metal walls, grey metal floor, no windows, and even more worrying, no apparent door. His eyes met Tom's again. The pilot's gaze was now clearer but his eyes held a strong expression of anxiety... and vulnerability.

Before he could acknowledge his surprise at the expression on Tom's face, the dim light suddenly flared into a brightness that stabbed painfully into Chakotay's eyes.

"Damn," Chakotay swore, shielding his face with his hands. "Turn that down."

To Chakotay's intense surprise, the lights dimmed obediently.

 _**Sorry.**_ The deep, disembodied voice echoed in the small cell.

Well, Chakotay reflected rather peevishly, at least their captors appeared to be polite. He clambered to his feet and sighed with relief when his head didn't fall off.

"What do you want with us?" He asked in the general direction of nowhere. He'd always hated disembodied voices, responding to them tended to make one feel foolish. "And what have you done with the rest of our people?"

 _**Your people are here,**_ the voice replied. ** _Whether they will remain here, depends entirely on you.**_

Chakotay frowned. The words sounded vaguely and ominously threatening.

"What do you mean by that?" The question came from Tom Paris, who had risen to his feet and was now standing near Chakotay, a solid and supportive presence at his side.

 _**If you do not co-operate, their presence at this facility will be terminated_.**

Definitely threatening.

"Listen," Chakotay strove to achieve his most reassuring and reasonable voice. "I'm not sure why you've done this. We had made an agreement with you that you had seemed perfectly satisfied with. If you weren't, you had only to say so and we would have been happy to negotiate diplomatically. There is no need to resort to-"

 _**Sorry_ ,** the voice interrupted him, and Chakotay blinked in surprise at the apologetic tone. ** _It's not the agreement. We're perfectly happy with the agreement. It's just that our scientific community came across something very interesting in the data files you gave us and they'd like some more information. That is why you have been brought to this laboratory facility.**_

"Fine," Chakotay replied, still feeling puzzled. "I don't understand why you abducted us and are threatening us then. We're quite happy to answer any questions you have."

A long silence followed his diplomatic reply, and Chakotay glanced at Tom, who met his look with one of confusion, and then shrugged his shoulders.

"This is nuts," he said, and Chakotay could only agree.

They waited.

 _ ******_ _WE REQUIRE A DEMONSTRATION_.** They both jumped as the voice blasted out of the walls at them. ** _IF YOU DO NOT CO-OPERATE YOUR PRESENCE AT THIS FACILITY WILL BE TERMINATED_. _ ******_

"OKAY, OKAY," Tom Paris yelled. "But turn it down a notch will ya?"

 _**Sorry,**_ the voice responded, several decibels lower. ** _We are experiencing some difficulties.**_

"You're not wrong there," Tom Paris muttered, and Chakotay couldn't stop himself from smirking. The pilot was annoyingly entertaining at times.

"So, what's this demonstration you want?" he asked, patiently.

_**Amongst your data files we have found information describing sexual activity in your species. Activity that we find most unusual.**_

"Uh, oh," Tom Paris whispered. "I don't like the sound of this."

For the third time in as many minutes, Chakotay found himself agreeing with the pilot. It seemed this day was to be full of surprises. "And?" he prompted. "What sort of activity?"

_**Amongst your species it is not considered unusual for members of the same gender to engage in sexual activity. For males, this includes penetration. We require a demonstration of this.**_

" _OH BOY_ ," Tom's voice burst out explosively in the small room. "You have got to be kidding me! I've got two words for you, buddy, and in this situation they're strangely appropriate…"

" _Lieutenant_ ," Chakotay hissed, grabbing Tom's arm roughly. "Calm down. Let me talk to them."

"Well, okay, Commander," Tom whispered. "But I still say this is nuts."

Chakotay directed a quelling look at Tom Paris and then cleared his throat. "I'm not sure we can do that," he said loudly. "You see that _would_ be unusual behavior for our species. Usually human couples are emotionally involved before that type of sexual activity occurs. The Lieutenant and I are not emotionally involved in that way."

"You got that right," Tom muttered, and Chakotay sent another severe look his way.

_**We require a demonstration. If you do not co-operate, your presence at this facility will be terminated.**_

"Look, we can't just _do_ that, right," Tom stated firmly. "It's not that simple, it can't just happen on demand."

 _**We have researched this topic in your files and we are aware that you will require assistance. We have provided you with the item you call lubricant_.**

A small beam of light came down from the ceiling, illuminating the shadows in a corner of their cell where they now saw a small earthenware bowl placed on the floor. It was full to the brim of a gleaming fluid, which looked very much like some sort of oil.

"Oh. Thanks," Tom's voice was flat. "But that's not quite what I meant."

 _**You may proceed_.**

Chakotay, with an increasingly stomach-sinking feeling of sheer horror, had been desperately trying to think of a way out of their predicament. He sighed deeply.

"You say that if we do not co-operate we will be terminated," he stated carefully.

_**Correct.**_

"What about our companions?" he asked.

_**Their presence will also be terminated.**_

"Surely, we can negotiate further on this. Perhaps there's some other way…"

 _**We require a demonstration.**_ The voice was firm but still polite. The politeness was really beginning to irritate Chakotay. ** _If you do not co-operate, your presence at this facility will be terminated.**_

Chakotay closed his eyes in a brief moment of pure despair. When he opened them, Tom Paris was staring at him resentfully.

"Great conversationalists, aren't they?"

"Tom…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

 _**You may proceed_.**

"Shut. UP!" The words burst out from both of them and for a split second Chakotay felt a surge of kinship for Tom Paris. Then he looked at the bowl sitting like a spider in the corner, and the feeling was gone.

"Okay, so how do we do this?" Tom asked, frustration clearly evident in his voice.

Tom Paris had surprised Chakotay yet again. "You haven't done…?" he left the question hanging as he caught Tom's laser look of pure fury.

"No, actually, I haven't. So there you go – you get to be the expert, as usual."

Chakotay's own anger flared. "And there _you_ go, making assumptions as usual. I haven't done this either."

"Oh great," Tom snarled. "The all-knowing First Officer finally admits inexperience. And perfect timing too."

 _**You may proceed.**_ The voice sounded slightly confused, and they both ignored it.

"Well, I'm still recovering from the shock that the all-powerful sex god known as Tom Paris would admit that there is something he doesn't know about sex."

"I know what to do, you idiot, what I meant was who's going to do what exactly."

"Oh," Chakotay's towering anger came crashing down with a thud. He eyed Tom apprehensively. "I hadn't thought of that."

"I didn't think so. Of course, it would be inappropriate for a senior officer to take advantage of a junior officer under his command."

"Oh you don't get away with that," Chakotay growled, his anger flaring up again. "It could be argued that it would be just as inappropriate for a senior officer to submit in such a way to a junior officer!"

 _**You may proceed_.**

"THAT'S ABSOLUTE CRAP AND YOU KNOW IT," Tom yelled, "AND IT'S TOTALLY ARCHAIC AS WELL."

"Well, so is what you said," Chakotay pointed out. "In this situation it wouldn't be seen as taking advantage. We're both agreeing to do this."

"I wouldn't exactly call it agreement."

"YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!" Chakotay was yelling now as well, but he had a sneaking suspicion that the entire argument was merely a delaying tactic for both of them and he forced himself to calm down. "We're going to have to decide something."

"Okay, I'm taller than you-"

"That's the most stupid-"

 _**You may proceed_.**

"All right then, if you remember, I saved your butt. Your life's mine, remember?" An evil expression crossed Tom's face. "But I'll settle for your butt."

"I told you at the time," Chakotay sneered. "Wrong tribe."

 _**You may proceed_.**

"Okay," snapped Tom Paris. "It's whoever has the biggest dick. If yours is bigger, I get to do you, if mine's bigger then it's the other way around. It's the fairest way."

For a moment Chakotay stared at him in speechless horror. "I'm not getting into some dick-measuring competition with you," he finally spluttered.

 _**Excuse me_.**

"Look, Commander," Tom's voice was now smugly patronizing and Chakotay seriously considered hitting him. "Neither of us has done this before, and it's gonna hurt. It's only fair that the receiver takes the smaller dick."

Chakotay narrowed his eyes at Tom. "You're taking a big risk on an assumption here, Tom, and I'm not that easily flattered. Be very careful, you may be overstating the case, and I just might call you on it."

_**Excuse me.**_

"I thought you didn't want to get into a competition," Tom muttered sullenly, and his confident expression now seemed far less confident, much to Chakotay's satisfaction.

 _ ******_ _EXCUSE ME!_ _ ******_ The voice boomed through the room and they both jumped, hands over their ears.

"WHAT?" Tom yelled.

 _**You may proceed_.**

Chakotay lost his temper again. " _OKAY, OKAY_. We're just getting through the foreplay," he snarled.

Tom gaped at him for a long moment looking very much like a startled fish, and then, incredibly, he collapsed on the floor, snorting with laughter.

Chakotay, still furious, watched him for a moment and then concern took over as Tom's laughter began to sound hysterical. He knelt on the floor beside the pilot and laid a tentative hand on his shoulder.

"Tom," he said gently. "You need to calm down. We _both_ need to calm down."

Tom took a deep, gasping breath. "I know," he finally whispered. "But this is so totally nuts."

"I know," Chakotay agreed. "But we're just going to have to do it. And you were right; I can't take advantage of you, and I guess I owe you."

Tom shifted under Chakotay's hand and when Tom looked up at him Chakotay was shocked to see the burning fury in Tom's eyes. "Oh, there you go again, the noble, honorable First Officer, sacrificing himself at the first opportunity. Well, I don't need you sacrificing yourself for me."

Chakotay flinched at the sneering tone and his face burnt with a mixture of anger and humiliation. It seemed it always turned out this way with Tom Paris, no matter what he did. Just when he thought things were slowly improving between them, and he had thought they were in the last few months, Paris would turn it all around on him and he'd be back where they had started. Voyager had been stuck in the Delta Quadrant for just over six months; at this rate by the end of the year they'd have killed each other.

"Fine then," Chakotay growled. "I'm done with this. Take your clothes off, Lieutenant, and turn over. Let's get on with it."

Chakotay turned to collect the bowl of oil so he didn't see Tom's face but he heard his gasp of shock and couldn't help smiling to himself in grim satisfaction. When he turned back, Tom hadn't moved and his face was pale and set.

Chakotay sighed, his emotions veering wildly once more. "Look, Tom, we have to do this. You want to make me the bad guy, fine, I'm the bad guy. I can even make it an order if that will help."

Tom stared at him for a long time, his face expressionless but his blue eyes cold and hard. "At this moment," Tom finally spoke, his voice tight, "we're just two guys right?" Chakotay nodded. "I know you don't really like me, Chakotay, and that's fine – I'm not that fond of you either, but, like you, I'll do anything for the good of Voyager. I respect you for that and I expect you to respect me for it as well, whatever happens. So, once the uniforms go back on, we forget about this and while I know that you'll have to report to the Captain, no one else ever finds out about it. Deal?"

Chakotay didn't have to think about it. It was a deal he could easily live with.

"Deal," he agreed.

Tom took a deep breath. "Okay then. Let's get this over and done with."


	2. Chapter 2

"That feels … really… _weird_."

Chakotay briefly closed his eyes and sighed in increasing frustration. Okay, so it didn't exactly feel great for him either, after all sticking his finger up Tom Paris' ass had never been high on his list of things he had to do before he died. In fact it had never made it onto the list at all, but continuously commenting on the awfulness of the situation hardly seemed helpful so Chakotay was keeping his mouth firmly shut.

Unlike Tom.

"Hell … this is totally fucked up … uh, no pun intended … why does it always have to be me that screws up away missions … damn, no pun intended…"

Chakotay withdrew his finger.

After a moment Tom rolled over and glared at him.

"What'd you stop for? Let's just get this over with as quickly as possible."

"I realize," Chakotay snapped, "that you tend to vocalize when you're nervous, but between your encouraging banter and…" he waved a hand vaguely around the room, "our exotic surroundings, the situation is not very… erotic."

Tom's eyes were now narrowed at him. "What exactly do you mean?"

"Well…" Chakotay faltered, amazed at his own embarrassment. "It's not particularly stimulating."

A moment of silence passed.

"And it needs to be." Chakotay's voice sounded snide even to his own ears as he struggled to suppress his rising anger. "If anything is ever going to happen."

He waited for the barrage of Tom's sarcastic abuse but it never came. The pilot sat quietly, watching him gravely.

"I see," he finally said softly and then Chakotay was stunned to see a cheeky grin cross Tom's face. "Well, I'm not sucking you off or anything."

For a moment, white hot rage surged through Chakotay and Tom Paris came as close to death as he'd ever been on an away mission, but then Chakotay felt a soft touch on his hand, his eyes came back into focus and he saw the sympathetic amusement in Tom's eyes. Suddenly he realized that Tom was laughing as much at himself as he was at Chakotay, and in a moment of sheer enlightenment Chakotay knew that Tom did this a lot, that most of his sarcasm, his brash and snide comments were directed mostly at himself.

Still, there was some faint echo of smug satisfaction on Tom's face, some pleasure taken in the fact that he had shocked Chakotay, that seemed so egotistical that Chakotay wanted to smash it away, in a way that would cause Tom as much shock as he'd just caused.

"Kiss me." It was his first-officer's voice and a small knot of resentment eased inside him as he saw the stunned confusion in Tom's eyes.

"What?"

"Fine, I'll kiss you then." And Chakotay reached out, grabbed the sides of Tom's head and hauled the pilot towards him, plastering his lips onto Tom's mouth.

Oddly, it wasn't the fact that he was actually _kissing_ _Tom Paris_ that made Chakotay's mind seize for a moment in sheer horror, it was his own sudden lack of control – the flash of pure anger that had made him act without thinking, in a way that was entirely inappropriate. He'd barely had time to comprehend what he'd done when he felt Tom's hands on the bare skin of his chest, and he was shoved forcefully away. Chakotay sprawled on the floor, his mind reeling, and gazed into blue eyes that blazed with anger.

" _What the hell_ …" Tom almost hissed.

"I apologize," Chakotay said immediately. "This situation… I guess I'm not handling it as well as I'd… ah… like to." He felt heat rise in his face as Tom's eyes widened in surprise. "That didn't come out… quite right," Chakotay faltered. "But I _am_ sorry."

"Okaaay," Tom said slowly, his eyes now thoughtful.

Chakotay didn't move from his rather inelegant position on the floor, mainly because he had no idea what to do next. Tom no longer seemed angry, but a part of Chakotay was waiting for the punishing, sarcastic comments to come and another part of him was wishing desperately that he could just get the hell out of this stupid situation in the quickest and easiest way possible. Either way, he wasn't making the next move even if the annoying disembodied voice that had been strangely silent for the last few minutes started yelling threats at them again.

"Chakotay," Tom's voice was soft with some sort of emotion that Chakotay couldn't identify. "I guess… we're in this together, you know. And if we're going to get through it we're gonna have to help each other. I'm… ah… sorry… I know I wasn't really being that helpful before."

Chakotay sat up and gazed at Tom in surprise. This wasn't what he'd expected at all and he really didn't know what to think of it. Tom, who had been staring blankly over Chakotay's left shoulder, met his eyes in one quick glance and then shifted nearer, his arm brushing against Chakotay's chest.

"If it makes it easier…" Tom's voice was still soft, and he moved even closer.

Feeling strangely breathless but refusing to actually think about anything that was about to happen or that he was about to do, Chakotay leaned forward and brushed his lips against Tom's mouth.

The first thought that managed to break through Chakotay's barrier was that Tom's lips were soft, and they moved gently underneath his. The second was that it didn't actually feel that bad. The third was that it actually felt quite good. He moved closer, pressed harder and Tom's lips parted under his. He felt, rather then heard, Tom's slight sigh as Chakotay's tongue brushed along Tom's bottom lip and something stirred deep in Chakotay's stomach. When he felt Tom's hand drift onto his shoulder a slow wave of heat rose in Chakotay's body and the next thing he knew he had his arms around Tom's waist, pulling him close. This, too, felt good.

Tom sighed again, a breathy moan against Chakotay's lips, and his hand tightened on Chakotay's shoulder. When he pulled his mouth away from Chakotay's, without thinking Chakotay tried to follow and he frowned when Tom turned his head away.

"Remember the deal."

It took Chakotay a moment to comprehend Tom's words. "What?"

"Whatever happens… you forget about it," Chakotay frowned again as he realized how tight Tom's voice was with tension. "And you don't tell anyone. Nobody finds out."

"We already agreed," Chakotay reminded him, confused, slightly annoyed but trying to be patient.

Before he could say anything more, the light in the room suddenly flared brilliantly, the glare stabbing into his eyes. He let go of Tom and covered his eyes with his hands, groaning in pain and beside him he could hear Tom do the same.

"Hell, what now?" Chakotay moaned and breathed a sigh of relief when the lights dimmed to a normal level.

** _SORRY_ **, the disembodied voice bellowed through the room and Chakotay winced. ** _WE ARE EXPERIENCING DIFFILCULTIES_.**

"I'm well aware of that," Chakotay mumbled, feeling nothing but resignation that the nightmare strangeness of the situation would only continue.

** _You may dress yourselves_ ,** the voice continued at a normal level. ** _This demonstration is no longer required._ **

"Oh, Thank. Fucking. God," Tom's voice was loud with pure relief and Chakotay was surprised by the slight stab of hurt that the sound of it caused, although the same relief was flooding through his own body.

** _You may dress yourselves_ ,** the voice repeated. ** _Your presence at this facility is to be terminated_.**

Alarm ripped through Chakotay even as he struggled into his uniform. Tom, now fully dressed, gasped.

"Wait," Chakotay said. "What do you mean by that?"

** _Prepare for transport_.**

Immediately Chakotay heard the distinctive hum and felt the familiar tingle of transportation. He closed his eyes and thanked any god anywhere that he'd managed to get his uniform on completely before this disconcerting moment.

And extremely disconcerting it was, that a mere few minutes after he had been actually kissing Tom Paris (and he had to admit, kind of enjoying it) he should find himself in the transporter room of Voyager face to face with Captain Janeway, who, he couldn't help noticing, looked very amused.

"What the hell is going on?" It was Tom who spoke first and Chakotay almost winced at the pure fury he could hear in the pilot's voice.

Captain Janeway blinked at him and then raised an eyebrow in Chakotay's direction. "I trust you are both uninjured?" Her voice was calm, with an undercurrent of the amusement that Chakotay had seen in her face a moment ago and Chakotay could tell that she already knew the answer to the question.

"Define 'uninjured'." Tom's voice was now bitter and the Captain glanced at him in surprise.

"I was assured by the Flartling president that no harm had come to you through this unfortunate practical joke but if some injury has occurred to you-"

"Practical joke?" Chakotay interrupted, impressed by the calm of his own voice because the pure rage and fury that was rising inside him had almost made him as speechless as Tom now was.

The Captain frowned. Chakotay knew she really didn't like being interrupted, but at that moment there was no way he was going to apologize. After a moment the Captain turned to him and smiled faintly.

"Yes, it seems the junior members of one the Flartling's research facilities had a little too much to drink at the reception and they decided to… ah… entertain themselves with some spur of the moment research."

"Captain," Chakotay said flatly. "They drugged and abducted us. And then they threatened us. I hardly think those actions can be described as a 'practical joke'."

"They threatened you?"

"Yes," it was Tom who answered and Chakotay was relieved that he now sounded calm. "They led us to believe that they were also holding other members of Voyager's crew and they told us that we would all be terminated if we didn't… um… co-operate."

"Yes, well," the Captain was back to being amused and for a brief moment Chakotay considered strangling her and then ordering Voyager to open fire on the Flartle's planet. He'd never seen her act so insensitively and he could only imagine that she, also, had drunk too much at the reception.

"Yes," the Captain continued. "Apparently by 'terminate' they meant that they would simply transport you back to Voyager, and they stretched the truth a little about how many of the crew they were holding – they only had the two of you. I was very annoyed about it when the Flartle president explained to me what was going on. Some of the more senior members of the institute had discovered the joke and reported to him immediately and in the end, for the sake of the agreement we'd made with them, I decided that there was no harm done."

Chakotay was absolutely floored, both by her complete lack of sensitivity and his own extreme embarrassment. He could feel the heat rising in his face and when he glanced at Tom he could see the same flush in his cheeks.

"Captain," he finally managed to say, "Do you really think that's an appropriate reaction? I mean I'm not saying that we should blow up their planet or anything _but by god I'd like to_ ," he could feel his ire rising and struggled to get back on track even as the Captain gazed at him in amazement. "But I really think that 'no harm done' is not the best response for what they did to us."

"Goodness, Commander," the Captain replied. "I always thought you had more of a sense of humor. Even with all the misunderstandings I hardly think being made to perform a few magic tricks warrants-"

"Magic tricks?" Tom sounded like he was choking and it was only that, Chakotay felt, that stopped the Captain, who _really_ did not like being interrupted, from biting his head off.

"Yes," said the Captain, now beginning to look more exasperated than amused. "I was told that the Flartling scientists had become fascinated by the concept of magic tricks as a form of entertainment. They don't have anything like that on Flartle so, as you know, they decided they wanted a practical demonstration. That is what happened, isn't it?"

And now Chakotay found himself in a terrible dilemma, because this was either the Captain letting them off the hook from having to make an incredibly embarrassing report or the Flartles had deliberately lied, whether for their own sakes or his and Tom's, Chakotay had no idea. He eyed the Captain carefully, as she stared back at him calmly, trying to gauge how much she really knew. He could feel Tom also gazing at him, risked a quick glance in his direction and took note of the hope in his blue eyes.

If he went along with this, he too would be lying – it could be a lie sanctioned by the Captain or it could be a lie that he would have to be careful to hide from her for the rest of the time they served together on Voyager - but either way, he decided, it really made no difference.

It had been an incredibly stupid day and Chakotay had a theory that it was always best to pretend that incredibly stupid days never happened.

"Yes, Captain," he said and hoped that she hadn't heard Tom's immediate sigh of relief. "Unfortunately neither I nor the Lieutenant had any expert knowledge of… ah… magic, so the demonstration wasn't going particularly well. It was rather embarrassing but, as you said, no harm done." It had been difficult not to sound rather sarcastic on those last few words and Chakotay was proud of himself for getting through it.

"Very well," the Captain smiled. "Dismissed. Get some rest, both of you."

Chakotay followed Tom through the door and along the corridor. The pilot was striding swiftly and Chakotay couldn't blame him for wanting to get away as quickly as possible so he was surprised when at the end of the corridor Tom stopped and waited. When Chakotay reached him Tom laid a tentative hand on Chakotay's arm and Chakotay gazed into his face in surprise.

"Thanks," Tom said softly, his eyes serious. "For not correcting-"

"Absolutely no problem," Chakotay interrupted. "The sooner this whole thing is forgotten about, the better."

Some emotion that Chakotay couldn't place flickered briefly in Tom's eyes but before Chakotay could say anything Tom had nodded and stepped away.

A moment later he was gone.


	3. Chapter 3

Oh hell, he had to be dreaming. This could not be happening again.

Chakotay rolled onto his side, his head throbbing, and gazed in bitter resentment at the sight of Lieutenant Tom Paris lying unconscious beside him.

It had been only three weeks since the incident on the Flartle planet, three weeks in which Chakotay had barely seen Tom Paris outside of their mutual bridge shifts. It wasn't that he'd exactly avoided the Lieutenant, it was just that it was mildly disturbing when Chakotay occasionally found himself staring at the back of Tom's head at the helm and remembering what Tom's lips had felt like against his own. So, he'd tended to keep away from situations where the pilot was present, which had been so surprisingly easy that Chakotay had wondered if Tom was doing the same thing.

But now, here they were again, in a situation that was alarmingly similar to the incident on Flartle – except that the floor was decidedly more comfortable, and Chakotay groaned in dismay, when after glancing down he discovered that the reason for this was that he wasn't on the floor.

He was lying on a rather large bed.

Chakotay groaned quietly and then reached for his communicator, not at all surprised when the only response he got was emphatic silence. It wasn't like he'd expected anything else.

The body beside him stirred fitfully, and Chakotay briefly closed his eyes and counted to ten, mentally preparing himself for the moment when Tom would wake. When he heard the stifled gasp he opened his eyes and met Tom's furious gaze squarely.

"Just fuck my life," Tom said, sounding eerily calm, and Chakotay blinked in surprise. "Really, just fuck it. I've had enough."

"Lieutenant-" Chakotay began, feeling that he should at least make some attempt to sound disapproving of Tom's questionable language.

"No, I mean it," Tom interrupted. "If the Captain doesn't agree to my no longer joining away missions, the next opportunity I get, I'm jumping ship."

"Yeah, right," Chakotay drawled, knowing that Tom Paris would never give up the chance to fly Voyager. "Look, be quiet. I'm going to try to sit up and my head can only take so much."

Tom snorted but fell silent and Chakotay gingerly propped himself up on his hands and squinted around the room. The light was, thankfully, dim and his eyes adjusted gradually and painlessly, and eventually he could see that they were in what could only be described as a sparsely furnished bedroom. Aside from the bed they were sitting on, the room contained only a small table near the bed and Chakotay rolled his eyes as he realized that once again the room had no windows or doors. But at least this time there was some color, although the rather sickening shade of vibrant mauve rather made him wish that there wasn't.

"Uh, Commander." Beside him Tom had also sat up and when Chakotay turned to look at him, the pilot shifted nervously to the extreme edge of the bed. Chakotay raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Ah," Tom continued. "I don't know if you've noticed, but we're sitting on a bed."

"I had noticed, thank you, Lieutenant," Chakotay replied, dryly.

"You don't think…? Tom faltered, his voice hesitant.

Chakotay frowned. "Don't be ridiculous," he said, ignoring the warning siren going off in his head. "You're being paranoid," he heard Tom's gasp and continued quickly before the pilot could say anything. "The likelihood of that situation arising again is a chance in a million. Now, what's the last thing you remember?"

Tom looked thoughtful. "Well, we were on the tour of the Boodarnagul entertainment facility and I stopped to talk to some guy and, I remember now, I felt something prick my neck. And here I am. Same for you, I guess?"

"Yes," Chakotay nodded. "Except they were less subtle. Some Boodarn just walked up to me and before I could do anything he'd stuck a syringe in my arm." Chakotay felt his face heat slightly; it hadn't exactly been his finest moment, taken by surprise like that. "Hmm, well."

"I wonder how long we've been here," said Tom, and Chakotay looked at him curiously. It wasn't often that Tom passed up the opportunity to laugh at a mistake, in fact the only thing that had made it bearable was that he laughed just as hard at his own, but he seemed to be letting Chakotay off the hook fairly often lately.

"Probably not that long," replied Chakotay. "My head's already feeling better so it must have been a mild shot. Unfortunately, the tour was supposed to go all day so the Captain won't be expecting me to update my report on trade options for a while yet. And…"

He broke off as part of the wall opposite them slid up, revealing a large screen. It flickered for a moment and then the image of a Boodarn that Chakotay vaguely remembered seeing during the tour appeared.

"Ah, gentlemen," the Boodarn said. "I see you're awake. Excellent. We'd like to begin filming as soon as you're ready. You'll find everything you need in the table beside you."

"I… beg your pardon?"

"Yes, Commander Chakotay, isn't it?" The Boodarn nodded, almost to himself. "Fine specimen, yes. And Lieutenant Paris, also a very fine example. I expect this film will do very well, indeed."

"Look, I really think you should explain-" Chakotay began and then broke off as he felt Tom's hand grip his arm.

"Uh, Commander, I think you should look in the table."

Chakotay frowned. "Tom, I hardly think-"

"Chakotay," Tom interrupted and he closed his eyes for a brief moment and sighed. When he opened his eyes again, Chakotay could only describe the expression in them as resigned. "Just look in the drawer."

"Fine," Chakotay huffed, and he leant over, yanked on the drawer handle and grabbed at the only item within. He stared at the clear bottle of oil in his hand, at first with blank confusion, then with growing anger and then he dropped it onto the bed in front of him as if it had burnt his hand.

"I really don't believe this," he heard Tom mutter beside him, and Chakotay could only nod dumbly in agreement.

Then, he decided, he was being ridiculous. There could be a thousand, well, he frowned to himself, at least a few, perfectly sensible explanations for this situation. It was extremely foolish of both Tom and himself to jump to paranoid conclusions. He looked up at the screen, where the Boodarn was smiling at them patiently, and nodded again.

"You said something about a film? Is this part of the tour? Are you going to show us a film? We're more accustomed to holographic forms of entertainment, but-"

"Did you say holographic?" the Boodarn interrupted eagerly. "Well, that would be something, but the expense is, I'm afraid, prohibitive. I have to cover costs, you know, and even with exotic content like yourselves, the profit would not be large. And, after all, I am in this for the profit."

"I think we've just met the Delta Quadrant equivalent of a Ferengi," Tom said quietly, but Chakotay was more concerned with the mention of 'exotic content'.

"Look, what exactly are you talking about?" Chakotay asked the Boodarn, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice.

"Oh, for crying out loud," it was Tom who answered him, his voice full of exasperation. "He wants us to make a porn film."

"What's a porn film?" Chakotay asked blankly, and then blinked when Tom stared at him in complete astonishment.

"Have you never been to Risa?"

Chakotay blinked again, and then shook his head. Tom, strangely enough, seemed to blush and he looked over at the Boodarn on the screen.

"You tell him," he said shortly. "Tell him exactly what you do here at this 'entertainment facility'."

The Boodarn nodded. "Certainly," he paused to take a deep breath. "We here at the Boodarnagul Exotirotica Entertainment Facility are proud to present the highest quality pornographic motion picture entertainment available. We specialize in the most unusual and exotic couplings that can be found for your premium viewing pleasure. Subscribe today and enjoy hours of remarkable content delivered straight to your viewing device with no delays. You'll experience as much satisfaction as our models-"

"Yeah," Chakotay interrupted. "I get it."

"I'm from the Rare Models Department," the Boodarn said, his voice full of pride. "I'm going to get a raise from this film. I mean, come on, unusual species, same gender, I've hit the jackpot."

"Well, I hate to burst your bubble," said Chakotay, flatly. "But it's not happening."

"I beg your pardon?"

"You heard me. We're not doing it. Now, let us out of here immediately, so we can return to our ship and leave this godforsaken planet as quickly as possible."

"I assure you," the Boodarn said, anxiously flapping his hands. "We'll pay you the best rates."

"We don't need money." It was Tom who spoke, his voice hard with anger.

"But your ship does need supplies."

"We can get them somewhere else," Chakotay replied. "And we've managed on rations before."

"Oh, well," the Boodarn sighed regretfully. "I suppose we'll have to blow up your ship then. Bit of a shame, really. The profit on this film would have been extraordinary and I could have really done with that raise."

There was a brief moment of tense silence.

"Did you just say you'd blow up our ship?" Chakotay asked, doubtfully. The Boodarn had sounded so casually disappointed that he really wasn't sure he'd heard correctly.

"Yes," the Boodarn nodded. "I mean you can't expect us not to. After all, we have to have some sort of performance guarantee."

"I don't believe you," Chakotay said. "We scanned your planet thoroughly and to be quite frank, you don't have the capability to destroy our ship."

"Well, if we had that capability, and we do, don't you think we'd also have the capability to block out unfriendly scans? That's just common sense-"

"We approached you in friendship and good faith," Chakotay interrupted, quickly accepting that his bluff had been called.

"Yes, you wanted to trade, and now you seem to be refusing payment on that trade."

"The negotiations were incomplete," Chakotay countered. "And besides, now you're threatening us."

"I really don't understand your reluctance," the Boodarn said, sounding confused. "It's not like you wouldn't enjoy yourselves."

Tom, who had been watching the whole conversation with a sullen look on his face, cleared his throat. "Yeah, well, that's the thing," he said. "It probably wouldn't be a great 'performance'. Certainly not up to your usual standards, I imagine."

"Oh, I expect we could fit it into a genre somewhere," the Boodarn assured him enthusiastically. "We have a very wide-ranging catalog."

Tom blinked at him in amazement and then turned to Chakotay who was speechless. "I told you," he said. "Ferengi."

Chakotay nodded dumbly and then frowned. "Tom…" he began hesitantly.

"Yeah," Tom said, softly. "I don't think we can take the risk of refusing."

Chakotay felt the relief flow through his body with some surprise. He wasn't sure why it was so important that Tom should be the one to make the decision, perhaps it was because he outranked the Lieutenant, or perhaps it was because of the way things had gone the last time they'd been in this situation. Either way, he was very glad that Tom had made the call so quickly and Chakotay reached out and squeezed Tom's hand in appreciation, and then watched curiously as Tom's eyes widened and a slight flush tinted his face.

"Excellent," the Boodarn's smug voice broke the moment and Chakotay looked up at the screen in irritation. "I really do appreciate your co-operation. Now, if you could just remove your clothing, we'll get started. First, I'd like you to-"

"You know what?" Chakotay interrupted, the irritation he'd been feeling blooming into full-blown rage. " _Get. Lost._ " Tom's muffled snort of amusement did nothing to cool Chakotay's anger; he wasn't even embarrassed by his uncharacteristic loss of composure. He'd had enough. "I think we've got this covered without your assistance, thank you very much. If you really want our co-operation then the best thing you can do is get your fat, ugly head off that screen. It's a total turn-off."

"Well, really…" the Boodarn spluttered, his face turning a vibrant blue. "There's no need to be so impolite."

Chakotay didn't even bother to reply, he simply crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the screen with his most uncompromising expression until the Boodarn heaved a frustrated sigh and the screen finally flickered into darkness.

"Well, that worked out well," Tom remarked, the amusement still evident in his voice, and Chakotay found himself grinning in response, and that was actually quite strange, he thought, that he should feel such an easy camaraderie with Tom Paris at such a moment.

He was still wondering about this as he watched the good humor fade from Tom's face to be replaced with tense anxiety, and the pilot suddenly burst into speech.

"Um, I didn't mean that this situation worked out well, because well, really, this is just bizarre, but I just meant that you were very successful at getting him to go away and…" he faltered as Chakotay held up a hand.

"Tom, you're babbling," he said. "And I'll be honest with you, it's actually making me really nervous." Chakotay doubted, for a moment, if he'd done the right thing by revealing something like that to Tom, but after all, once again they were in this together so he guessed he owed him that much.

Tom looked surprised and then he took a deep breath. "Yeah, sorry," he said. "Um, so, same deal? We forget this ever happened and don't tell anyone."

Chakotay nodded and watched as a wry smile crossed Tom's face.

"So, I guess we should just continue where we left off last time then."

And with those words Chakotay's stomach twisted with a mixture of anxiety and something else that worried him even more when he recognized it as curiosity. Would kissing Tom Paris be as pleasant as it had been the last time? He searched Tom's face for any sign that he might be feeling anything similar and his stomach clenched again when he saw the trepidation in Tom's eyes. That calmed him down immediately and he held out a hand to the pilot.

"Come over here," he said gently.

After a moment's hesitation Tom took his hand and moved closer, Chakotay leaned forward and their lips met. Immediate tension froze Chakotay's body and he could feel the same thing happening to Tom. He pulled away, his eyes searching Tom's face and seeing the embarrassment that Chakotay knew must be obvious on his own.

"Well, that was, um, awkward," Tom muttered.

"Yeah," Chakotay agreed softly and squeezed Tom's hand in sympathy. He gazed at Tom thoughtfully as he seemed to study the wall opposite them with a focused intent that was belied by the rising color in his cheeks. He didn't think he'd ever seen Tom so unsure of himself and it gave Chakotay the courage to lean forward and press his lips to Tom's throat.

Once again Tom seemed to freeze but this time Chakotay didn't and he continued to move his mouth in a gentle caress up to Tom's jaw and then to that sensitive spot just behind the ear that he knew could usually be relied on for a good reaction. And sure enough, Chakotay felt the faint tremor that went through Tom's body.

Afterwards Chakotay blamed that slight shiver for what happened next, because suddenly it was like a dam burst inside him. A sharp tidal wave of arousal made his body flush with heat and seemed to sweep aside his self-control, or indeed, he reflected later in perplexed embarrassment, his sanity.

His teeth sank into the soft skin of Tom's throat and he sucked hard as his hands reached for the zipper on Tom's uniform. Within seconds he had the uniform pulled down to Tom's hips and was pulling on his turtleneck undershirt, briefly detaching his mouth from Tom's neck to get it over his head.

Dimly, Chakotay realized that Tom had been still and silent in what was probably stunned surprise, but as soon as Chakotay's mouth was on Tom's throat again, he felt and heard the moan that escaped from Tom's lips.

He couldn't seem to get enough of the salty taste of Tom's skin and he kissed and nibbled, and licked and sucked as much of it as he could, sliding up his throat, along his jaw and down to his shoulder.

" _Oh, god,_ Chakotay… yeah," he heard Tom whisper, and he felt Tom's hand on his chest, tugging on his zipper.

Without thinking, Chakotay gripped Tom's wrist, holding it as he pushed Tom's shoulders down to the bed with his other hand, and then straddled his waist. Tom gave a startled gasp and then laid still, his eyes wide; Chakotay noticed that they seemed darker than normal and he admired the flush on Tom's skin before he tugged his own undershirt over his head.

He felt Tom's warm hands slide over the skin of his stomach in a gentle caress and shivered with pleasure at the touch but he was impatient to taste Tom again and this time he wanted his mouth. His gaze focused on Tom's lips, already parted as he breathed heavily, and he pressed forward, pushing Tom's hands out of the way, and took his mouth in a deep kiss.

There was nothing awkward about this kiss, and neither was it merely pleasant as their first one had been. It was wet and hungry and filthy and it made Chakotay feel as if he wanted to get as deep into Tom as he could possibly get. Chakotay's hands gripped Tom's jaw, angling his head exactly where he wanted it, while his tongue tangled with Tom's. He could feel Tom's hands sliding along his skin, around his waist and then along his back, the pressure and friction making his skin tingle, and he gasped into Tom's mouth.

Chakotay pulled his lips away from Tom's, struggling to breathe evenly, but still he needed to taste more and he slid his mouth over Tom's ear, nipping gently on Tom's earlobe and delighting in the tremor that went through Tom's body.

"You taste so good," he whispered. "So fucking good."

"Chakotay…," Tom moaned, and his voice sounded deep and throaty. "Please… don't stop…"

And Chakotay certainly wasn't going to. He returned to Tom's lips with another hungry kiss that was answered with just as much desperation as Chakotay was feeling, and it was so intoxicating, this slow, sensuous slide of their tongues. Tom was making these soft, needy noises into Chakotay's mouth that seemed to vibrate through Chakotay's entire body and then Tom's hips moved against Chakotay's and suddenly all of Chakotay's focus was right there, and he couldn't believe that until this moment he hadn't realized how achingly hard his cock was. Automatically he ground down onto Tom's pelvis and felt the answering hardness there, and it was like another dam broke open inside him all over again.

Before he knew it, he was up on his knees, yanking Tom's uniform down to his ankles and off. Tom looked up in shock at the sudden movement, but Chakotay barely registered it as he dealt with his own uniform, and then he was sliding forward and down onto deliciously, hot skin. Tom's arms wound around his neck immediately, and his knees rose on either side of Chakotay's hips and, oh, that was perfect. Chakotay thrust forward, was met with an answering movement from Tom, and god he'd forgotten, he thought, that two cocks sliding together could feel so fucking good.

Their mouths met again as they continued to rut against each other and Chakotay knew he was so close now; the pressure was building within him, when Tom pulled away and whispered in Chakotay's ear.

"Chakotay, please… find the oil… use it…"

And, wow, he'd completely forgotten that they could do that, and suddenly even though a moment ago he'd been so close from what they had already been doing, now all he could think about was how much he wanted to be inside the tight heat of Tom's body and, also, how much he wanted to _see_ it. Still, he needed to be sure that Tom really wanted that too.

His hips had already stilled against Tom's and he could feel Tom's panting breath in his ear.

"You want me to fuck you?" Chakotay asked in a low voice that was so wrecked and breathless that it was almost unrecognizable to his own ears.

" _Uh, god_ … yeah," Tom moaned. "If you want to…"

But that 'yeah' was all Chakotay needed to hear and he was up on his knees again, gripping Tom's hips and rolling him over. Tom gasped, but turned over easily and Chakotay briefly acknowledged his thanks that Tom didn't seem to mind Chakotay manhandling him because he really couldn't seem to stop himself from doing it.

Chakotay's gaze swept the bed, and he grabbed the oil when he spotted it at the side of the mattress. He drizzled some on his fingers and then eyed Tom's ass in some distraction because, really, it was a rather nice ass, he thought, in fact one of the nicest he'd ever seen and he couldn't understand why he hadn't realized that when he'd seen it on Flargle.

He leaned forward over Tom, dragging his cock along the crease of that rather nice ass, and they both groaned. His mouth found Tom's ear.

"Just so you know," he said. "I want to."

He couldn't resist thrusting against Tom, and when Tom spread his legs slightly and pushed back against him, so that Chakotay's cock slid along Tom's ass, Chakotay seriously wondered if he would last long enough to actually get inside him.

" _Janeway to Chakotay."_

Chakotay blinked in blank confusion but he decided he couldn't have really heard that and he reached for the bottle of oil again.

" _Captain Janeway to Commander Chakotay. Please respond."_

" _Oh god, oh god, oh god_ ," Tom was babbling and he rolled over and looked up at Chakotay with a stricken expression. Chakotay, himself, was feeling a flood of ice-cold shock running over his body and it was an extremely painful and uncomfortable sensation, particularly in his…

"Your communicator," Tom hissed, and he pushed at Chakotay's shoulder.

That brought Chakotay to his senses, and he scrambled off the bed, grabbed his uniform and tapped his communicator, desperately trying to organize his shattered thoughts.

"Chakotay here."

"Ah, Commander Chakotay. I'm sorry that I have to interrupt your massage, but I have already informed the Boodarnagul Entertainment Director that, due to a small problem on board Voyager, I'll have to cut your tour short. Do you need a moment before transport?"

_Oh god y_ … "yes," Chakotay responded quickly, but still with some confusion. "Captain, did the Entertainment Director say that he would let us go?" Because he really didn't want to get back on Voyager only to have it blow up around him.

"He did seem reluctant, he said something about how a 'Traditional Boodarnagul Massage' should not be interrupted." She sounded sarcastic. "However the Boodarnagul Prime Director talked to him and assured him of the seriousness of the situation. After that he seemed fine. Is Lieutenant Paris with you?"

Chakotay, who had been struggling into his uniform, looked up to find that Tom was already dressed. He frowned as he saw the frozen look on Tom's face and noted how Tom was avoiding meeting his eyes.

"Yes, he's here," he replied. "What's the emergency?"

"We are having an unusual compatibility problem in engineering."

Chakotay winced - he knew what that meant. Lieutenant Carey probably had a black eye again and he was probably going to have to reprimand B'Elanna formally this time, and the fact that the Captain was bringing Chakotay back to deal with it probably meant she had decided that the Boodarnagul trade agreement wasn't worth pursuing.

"Let me know when you are ready for transport."

"Give us a moment. Chakotay out."

Finally Tom looked at him, his expression wary. Chakotay wasn't sure what he should say but he knew he should try to say something. He took a deep breath.

"Tom-"

"Commander," Tom interrupted quickly, his face hard and his eyes cold, and Chakotay could not believe that this was the same person who had been lying underneath him barely a few minutes ago. "I would appreciate it," Tom continued. "If you would honor the deal we made. We forget about this, we don't talk about it, and nobody else finds out that any of this ever happened. You agreed to that."

Chakotay frowned. "I don't remember agreeing that we wouldn't talk about it-"

"That would be implied in the forgetting part, don't ya think?"

The sarcasm in Tom's voice was biting and Chakotay felt his face flush in humiliation and anger. Yes, this was the Tom Paris he knew and loathed.

"Fine," he snapped. "As I've said before, the sooner it's forgotten the better. Let's get back to Voyager."

Tom gave a curt nod, and if Chakotay noticed the slight blush that rose in Tom's cheeks he willfully ignored it as he tapped his combadge and requested transportation.


	4. Chapter 4

Chakotay's eyes snapped open and he stared up at the strange ceiling in complete confusion. A moment later he groaned in frustration because really, _really?_ A clear-cut away mission on an uninhabited Class M moon and he still managed to get himself captured? The only thing that could make it worse was if… and Chakotay rolled over onto his side and didn't know whether to feel relieved or disappointed when he saw that he was alone.

No Tom Paris.

And obviously not an uninhabited moon either.

Chakotay rose to his feet and looked around the room curiously. Its walls and floors appeared to be carved out of grey rock but it was furnished with soft cushions and floating draperies in jeweled colors so bright that the riot of visual sensation was almost overwhelming. Chakotay sighed and closed his eyes. Delta Quadrant interior decoration left a lot to be desired in his opinion.

He opened his eyes again and immediately noticed something that lately his prison cells usually didn't have. A door… and also a window. He tried the door first, not particularly hopefully but he knew he should at least make some sort of attempt to escape. When it didn't budge he went to the window, which was actually more of an opening in the wall than a window. It wasn't even glazed and for a moment he was absurdly excited, until he leaned out and discovered that he appeared to be trapped inside a rather large mountain. The drop to the surface of the moon was breathtaking and probably lethal.

Chakotay kicked a few cushions out of the way and slumped against the wall and it was at that point that he finally noticed (and he was ashamed of how long it had taken him) that he wasn't wearing his uniform. He plucked curiously at the soft, white robe that came down to his knees and was rather thankful for the matching leggings that clung to his legs. The room was slightly chilly.

He wondered what had happened to the rest of the away team. It had been a small group, himself, Tom Paris, B'Elanna, and a couple of crewmembers from engineering. It had actually been the first time he'd spent any time with Tom Paris since the incident on Boodarnagul and he hadn't exactly been thrilled about the necessity, but thankfully B'Elanna had been in one of her good moods and had kept everyone distracted with an endless stream of banter and jokes.

They'd all separated to perform different tasks, and Chakotay had been focused on taking geological samples when he'd heard movement behind him. He'd turned, but everything had immediately gone black and the next thing he knew… well, here he was. In yet another prison cell. It was starting to become monotonous really.

Chakotay sighed and tried to keep his mind blank. He'd become rather good at that in the last couple of weeks, but the annoying thing about this situation was there was nothing else to do _but_ think.

And he really didn't want to do that because inevitably his thoughts would turn to what had happened on Boodarnagul and one Lieutenant Tom Paris, and when he thought about either of those things he just felt so damned guilty.

His cheeks flamed with embarrassment (and for other reasons he wasn't going to admit to) as he remembered how badly he'd lost his head in that hideous violet room. He still couldn't believe it. Yeah, sure it had been awhile since his last sexual relationship, but not _that_ long, and that was no reason to throw himself at Tom Paris like some starved adolescent on… Chakotay winced and stopped himself from finishing the thought.

Besides that, it was Tom Paris, somebody that he wasn't really that fond of. Or so he'd thought, but he had to admit that when Tom had looked at him with that cold, hard look and then continued to do so ever since, well, it had kind of hurt. Because, well, they'd been in that situation together, and Chakotay had rather thought that Tom had lost his head in that room too, and now the Lieutenant was acting as if Chakotay was some sort of monster. And while he knew it wasn't fair, Chakotay just couldn't seem to stop himself from feeling guilty whenever he saw Tom Paris.

Chakotay sighed again and wondered what the Captain would do when she realized the away team had been captured yet again – except she didn't really know the full story of the last time because Chakotay hadn't corrected her about the massage excuse, and that was another thing to feel guilty about, because now he had _two_ false reports on his conscience.

At this point in what he felt were his increasingly juvenile thoughts, Chakotay was seriously considering bashing his head against the wall and knocking himself unconscious again, when he was distracted by the door sliding open and two aliens walked in.

Between them, in an outfit identical to Chakotay's, was Tom Paris.

Chakotay scrambled to his feet and took a deep breath.

"I am Commander Chakotay of the USS Starship Voyager," he said politely but firmly to the nearest alien, craning his neck upwards in an attempt to meet its eyes, because both of the rather bird-like aliens were very tall. "We were under the impression that this moon was uninhabited or we would have attempted communication with you instead of intruding on your privacy. We mean no harm to you or your moon and if you release us we will return to our ship and leave you in peace immediately, if that is what you wish."

"WE ARE THE HOORNSPLAT!"

Chakotay blinked in surprise; both at the answer and its volume, and the fact that he couldn't tell which one of them had spoken. Tom, who had moved into the room and was now standing near Chakotay, cleared his throat.

"That appears to be all they ever say," he said.

"Where were you, and where are the others?" Chakotay asked, keeping an eye on the tall, feathered creatures standing calmly near the door. They seemed harmless but you never could tell.

"We were all in a room very like this one until these two came along and brought me here," Tom answered quietly. "The worrying thing is the others were still in their uniforms and they were kind of chained to the walls, behind some kind of weird force field thing that I couldn't get through."

Chakotay nodded, and decided to make another attempt at talking to the aliens.

"Perhaps you would tell us why you have brought us here?" he asked, simply.

"WE ARE THE HOORNSPLAT! THE TIME OF THE SHARING IS NEAR!"

And, yes, whilst fully aware that his last couple of alien adventures had probably made him deeply suspicious and paranoid, Chakotay really did not like the sound of that. He risked a glance at Tom and saw that he, too, was looking singularly unimpressed.

"So, this sharing thing…" Chakotay began tentatively, and really that was no good, he was a First Officer, dammit. He cleared his throat and continued more firmly. "Would you care to explain that further?"

"WE ARE THE HOORNSPLAT! THE TIME OF THE SHARING IS NEAR! IN FIVE HOURS THE CEREMONY SHALL BEGIN!"

"Yes, I see," said Chakotay. "Some sort of ceremony. In five hours. And what exactly happens at this ceremony?"

"WE ARE THE HOORNSPLAT! THE TIME OF THE SHARING IS NEAR! IN FIVE HOURS THE CEREMONY SHALL BEGIN! THE SEED MUST BE SHARED!"

"Fuck, I hope they mean birdseed," he heard Tom mutter, and really, Chakotay thought dismally, he could only agree. But somehow, with the way things had been going lately, he wasn't too hopeful.

"Well," Chakotay said, trying to sound relatively cheerful. "We'd be happy to witness your ceremony, but after that we would really have to leave. Our ship is waiting for us in orbit. It's a rather powerful ship and we wouldn't want there to be any misunderstandings, so perhaps if I could-"

"WE ARE THE HOORNSPLAT! THE TIME OF THE SHARING IS NEAR! IN FIVE HOURS THE CEREMONY SHALL BEGIN! THE SEED MUST BE SHARED! THE SEED OF THE INTRUDERS MUST HEAL THE BREACH!"

"Breach? We'd be happy to help repair any damage we've caused. We didn't really see any vegetation out there but if you need us to help with planting…" Chakotay faltered to a stop with the uncomfortable feeling that he was rambling, and wished that these Hoornsplat aliens would be a little more forthcoming with information.

"WE ARE THE HOORNSPLAT!"

"For god sakes we _know_!" Tom muttered. "And stop _yelling_."

"THE TIME OF THE SHARING IS NEAR! IN FIVE HOURS THE CEREMONY SHALL BEGIN! THE SEED MUST BE SHARED! THE SEED OF THE INTRUDERS MUST HEAL THE BREACH! THE HOLY OIL HAS BEEN PREPARED!"

The door slid open and another Hoornsplat glided in, holding a vial of oil in its feathered claw. It placed it on the ground beside the other two aliens and left the room.

"So…" said Chakotay slowly, eyeing the vial on the floor with considerable tension. "What exactly is this breach?"

"WE ARE THE HOORNSPLAT! THE TIME OF THE SHARING IS NEAR! IN FIVE HOURS THE CEREMONY SHALL BEGIN! THE SEED MUST BE SHARED! THE SEED OF THE INTRUDERS MUST HEAL THE BREACH! THE HOLY OIL HAS BEEN PREPARED! IN FIVE HOURS THE DARK ONE MUST PLANT ITS SEED IN THE LIGHT ONE!"

" _Oh god_ ," said Tom, and slumped to the floor.

_And there it is_ , thought Chakotay and he was absolutely, coldly furious. "This is some sort of joke isn't it?" he snarled. "Some sort of massive fucking Delta Quadrant joke."

"WE ARE THE HOORNSPLAT! THE TIME OF-"

"Look," Chakotay snapped. "You really don't have to keep repeating everything. Just say yes or no. You want us to have sex, don't you?"

There was a long moment of silence.

"YES!"

And it was a sign of how frazzled Chakotay was that he almost breathed a sigh of relief at that answer purely because he hadn't had to listen to the whole damned speech again.

"Right," he said. "And if we refuse, what happens to our friends?"

"WE ARE THE HOORNSPLAT! THE TIME OF THE SHARING IS NEAR! IN FIVE-"

"Wait, wait." Chakotay held up a hand and the Hoornsplats thankfully fell silent. "I'll rephrase that. You are holding our friends, right?"

"YES!"

"If we perform your ceremony you will let us go?"

"YES!"

"If we don't perform your ceremony you will harm us and our friends?"

"WE ARE THE HOORNSPLAT!"

Chakotay threw his hands up in the air.

"THE TIME OF THE SHARING IS NEAR! IN FIVE HOURS THE CEREMONY SHALL BEGIN! THE SEED MUST BE SHARED! THE SEED OF THE INTRUDERS MUST HEAL THE BREACH! THE HOLY OIL HAS BEEN PREPARED! IN FIVE HOURS THE DARK ONE MUST PLANT ITS SEED IN THE LIGHT ONE! IF THE SEED IS NOT PLANTED A PENALTY OF LIFE MUST BE PAID!"

Chakotay closed his eyes, took a deep breath, opened his eyes and then looked down at Tom, who was sitting against the wall with his face buried in his hands.

Chakotay cleared his throat. "Tom-"

"Fine, fine." Tom interrupted, waving a hand, and his voice sounded as if he was either crying or laughing. Chakotay could completely sympathize with either state.

"WE ARE THE HOORNSLPLAT! THE TIME OF THE SHARING IS NEAR! IN FIVE HOURS THE CEREMONY SHALL BEGIN! THE SEED MUST BE SHARED! THE SEED OF THE INTRUDERS MUST HEAL THE BREACH! THE HOLY OIL HAS BEEN PREPARED! IN FIVE HOURS THE DARK ONE MUST PLANT ITS SEED IN THE LIGHT ONE! IF THE SEED IS NOT PLANTED A PENALTY OF LIFE MUST BE PAID! REST IN PREPARATION! THE HOORNSPLAT WILL RETURN TO OBSERVE THE CEREMONY!"

And before Chakotay could react in anything but horror at this new piece of information, the door slid open and the two Hoornsplats left the room. Chakotay stood for a moment gaping and then he backed into the wall and slid down it to the floor.

_Did they really mean they were going to watch?,_ he thought frantically and then shook his head to clear it.

"I'm cursed," said Tom, and Chakotay jolted in surprise because he'd been in so much shock that he'd actually forgotten that Tom was there. He looked over at the Lieutenant, who was now gazing at the floor with his arms resting on his knees, and wondered if he'd heard the last thing the Hoornsplats had said.

Then Tom looked at Chakotay, and his eyes were despondent. "Do you think this ever happens to anyone else? Or is it just us?"

"I have no idea," replied Chakotay, bitterly. "But I wouldn't be surprised if it did. I'm fairly sure the entire population of the Delta Quadrant is sexually depraved and completely insane."

Tom snorted softly, and then fell silent and they both sat for a moment, staring at the floor. Then Chakotay risked a glance at Tom's face. He couldn't tell what the pilot was thinking but at least that cold, hard look was gone from his eyes. Chakotay took a deep, mind-clearing breath.

"Tom," he said. "I wanted to say I'm sorry. I know you've been angry at me." As he saw Tom's shoulders stiffen, Chakotay wondered if he should ask Tom _why_ he'd been so angry with him. After all, except for losing his head, all of the situations hadn't exactly been Chakotay's fault.

"I wasn't angry at you," Tom replied, his voice even and not giving any clue to what he was feeling.

"Okaaay," Chakotay said, doubtfully. "It certainly seemed like you were."

"I was more embarrassed than angry," Tom said. "You'd said you weren't into guys and when you… then I…" he faltered and fell silent and Chakotay could see his cheeks had flushed with heat.

"I never said that," Chakotay said, before he could really think about what he was doing. "And I thought you were the one…"

"You mean you…" Tom fell silent again, and Chakotay seriously wondered if either of them was ever going to be able to finish a sentence again. How had they gotten into this embarrassing conversation when all Chakotay had been trying to do was make things a little easier by clearing the air?

Still, maybe they should have this conversation, because they really did seem to have a knack for getting into these sorts of situations.

"Sometimes I've been attracted to other men," he said. "A few times I've acted on it, but for some reason or another it's never lasted too long, usually due to timing, or separation from missions. So, that's why I'd never gone as far as having sex, although I'd fooled around a fair bit." He did, after all, know how to give a killer blowjob, but he wasn't going to be _that_ open with Tom.

"Oh," Tom said, and his voice was so tense that Chakotay was seriously concerned that all he'd managed to do was make things worse.

"Sorry," he said, and then winced, because honestly, what on earth was he actually apologizing for?

"No, I'm sorry," said Tom, and Chakotay blinked in surprise. He hadn't been expecting that from Tom Paris. "I just assumed… I mean I…" He stopped and cleared his throat. "I mean, it's the same for me too... I mean, I've had attractions as well, in fact I think I'm more attracted to men than to women, but I've never really acted on it for some reason. I'm not sure why, but I think maybe it's because I'd actually fall in-" He broke off suddenly, looking slightly bewildered and Chakotay thought it might be because Tom had been doing that nervous babbling thing that Chakotay was beginning to realize was a habit of his when stressed. He suspected that Tom had revealed far more than he'd meant to, which meant he'd have to be very careful with his response.

However, before he could say anything, Tom spoke again.

"I can't believe I just told you all that," he said, slowly. "It makes me sound terrible, as if I've been using women or something, and the truth is, I haven't actually been with that many women. I flirt a lot, that's all, and it's given me a certain reputation."

Chakotay was feeling rather lost at that moment, it was as if he was afloat in a large sea without a rudder or any means of steering. He suspected it was because he and Tom Paris had never been close, they didn't really _know_ each other, and because of the events of the last few weeks they'd been forced into a false sense of intimacy. And because of this Chakotay was learning that he'd made a lot of assumptions about Tom Paris, assumptions that were perhaps turning out to be completely wrong. He eyed Tom warily, and wondered if he should tell him that.

"Thanks for telling me, Tom," he finally said softly, and watched as Tom's head snapped up from his serious contemplation of the floor. Blue eyes met his with an unreadable expression. "I'd jumped to some conclusions about you that I shouldn't have and I apologize. Believe it or not, I usually try not to do that."

Tom looked at him in surprise and after a moment, smiled. "I guess I've been guilty of the same thing," he said.

"Why don't you want to fall in love?" Chakotay asked, and then could have bitten his own tongue out as Tom's face flushed a deep red and he turned away. Why on _earth_ had he asked that?

"I apologize," he said quickly, and really he seemed to have to do that an awful lot with Tom Paris, lately. "That was out of line."

Some sort of sound came from Tom Paris, something that sounded like a choked laugh. "Commander, you've witnessed first hand what a complete disaster my life usually is. I know I've brought a lot of it on myself, but even when I try to do better, it invariably goes wrong." He waved a hand around the room. "Case in point. Why would I want to inflict all of that on someone else?"

Chakotay knew Tom was deflecting with humor. He was strangely tempted to call him on it, but he could sense somehow that Tom had reached his limit, and he really didn't want to push too far and ruin this temporary truce they seemed to have reached.

Besides, there was something else bothering him, something that had been worrying away in the back of his mind ever since the Hoornsplats had left the room, and there was nothing for it, he was going to have to tell Tom about it.

"We have a bit of a problem," he finally said, and Tom looked at him, his face concerned.

Chakotay grimaced. "I don't think I can do this."

For a split second he thought he saw a flash of hurt in Tom's eyes, but before he could be certain, the look was gone. Tom moved nearer, his face worried.

"What's the problem?" Tom asked, gently. "Because we kinda have no choice. As usual."

"I don't know if you heard them," Chakotay replied. "But the Hoornsplat are going to watch."

Tom frowned in confusion. "Well, the other times weren't exactly completely private."

"Yes I know," Chakotay said, a little bit testily he had to admit. "But they weren't actually in the _same_ room."

" _Oh_." Tom's eyes had gone wide, and Chakotay was now certain that he hadn't realized what the Hoornsplats had said.

Chakotay waited, at a complete loss and feeling terrible about that, because he was after all the senior officer and he knew that he should really pull himself together.

" _Well_ ," Tom breathed, and when Chakotay glanced at him, he looked pale and determined. "Perhaps once we start, it will be like last time," he blushed and cleared his throat. "I mean, if we hadn't been interrupted…"

Chakotay felt his own face heat at the memory, but he also felt doubtful and he knew it showed.

"Or," Tom continued and Chakotay gasped as Tom suddenly straddled and sat on his lap and looked down at him. "Or we could get that first time out of the way privately - and get in the mood at the same time."

Chakotay's brow rose in surprise, as he leant his head back on the wall and looked up into blue eyes sparkling with humor. He was beginning, he thought, to have quite a new appreciation for Tom Paris. He slid his hands into the soft material over Tom's hips and smiled.

"That's quite forward of you, don't you think?"

"Well, you got things on the right track last time. I figure I should pull my weight this time."

Chakotay laughed, which caused some very interesting sensations in the area where Tom was sitting on him. His fingers tightened on Tom's hips, pulling him closer, and he looked up at Tom curiously when Tom rocked against him slightly.

"You seem more comfortable with the idea of _this_ ," Chakotay said, and thrust upwards slightly to emphasize his point. "I seem to remember that you originally thought it felt weird."

"Well, as you said at the time, the situation was hardly erotically stimulating," Tom replied, and then leaned down to Chakotay's ear, resting one hand on the wall behind Chakotay's head. "Besides, I got curious," he continued sounding breathless, "so I replicated a certain piece of equipment and practiced, and I discovered that it wasn't so bad after all."

And the effect those words, and the images they caused, had on his cock made Chakotay pretty sure he knew how Tom had gotten such a reputation just from flirting.

"Well in that case," he said seriously, "I think that you should pull your weight and kiss me."

He turned his head and Tom's lips immediately pressed to his, hot and hard, and eager. Chakotay met that eagerness with his own and the kiss got deep and desperate quickly. Tom moaned, the sound of it rocked through Chakotay's body and he slid his hand around to Tom's rather nice ass and gripped tightly. When another moan came to his ears, he smiled into the kiss. Tom's mouth slid to Chakotay's throat and he tilted his head, gasping for air and letting out a few moans of his own. Tom's mouth felt so damned good.

Chakotay could feel Tom's hardness pressing against him and he slid a hand around from his ass and gripped it firmly. They hadn't touched each other like this the other times and it felt good to have a hard cock in his hand again. Tom obviously liked it too, because his hips rocked into Chakotay's hands in a hard thrust.

Chakotay turned his head and found Tom's ear.

"You know, there's something I didn't tell you," he whispered, and Tom's mouth stilled against his throat.

"Hmmm?"

"I know how to give a killer blowjob."

Tom's response was something that sounded like "Blmmph," and Chakotay laughed.

"Kneel up," he said, pulling on Tom's hips.

He reached up under Tom's robe and grasped the waistband of his leggings, and then dragged them down as far as they would go.

"Here," he said to Tom, lifting the robe to Tom's hand. "Hold this out of the way."

He could hear Tom breathing heavily as Chakotay gripped the erection in front of him, and he looked up to see glittering blue eyes watching his face. He smiled up at Tom, and then pulled his hips forward, slowly sliding his tongue under Tom's cock and letting it rest there. Again he pulled gently on Tom's hip and Tom got the message and slowly pushed forward into Chakotay's mouth.

Chakotay closed his eyes. It had been a long time since he'd done this and he was surprised at how much he was enjoying it. He gripped the base of Tom's cock with one hand and swirled his tongue around the head before sucking it further into his mouth.

He heard a soft whimper above him and he could feel Tom's thigh trembling under his hand. Chakotay went to work, and very soon he was rewarded with a loud groan, and then a couple of curses in a low, trembling voice. He hummed deep in his throat in response.

"Oh, _fuck_ ," Tom gasped. "I _love_ your mouth. My _dick_ loves your mouth. And your _tongue_ …"

Tom's babbling was having a serious effect on Chakotay's own erection, and he reached down and rubbed his palm over it, his eyes almost rolling into the back of his head at the sensation.

He heard Tom groan again, followed up with a loud crashing noise… and then another one.

Chakotay opened his eyes slowly, because that just didn't seem right. The next sound he heard made him stop what he'd been doing and let Tom's cock slip from his mouth. Above him, Tom whimpered.

Chakotay cleared his throat. "That sounded like phaser fire," he said, apologetically.

" _Oh god_ , no, not again," Tom moaned. "I think I'm gonna die."

Chakotay winced in sympathy, quickly pulling Tom's leggings up over his hard erection, glistening with Chakotay's saliva. The phaser fire sounded very close now.

He pulled Tom down into his lap and pressed a quick, hard kiss onto his trembling lips.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "Believe me, I've got the same problem."

Tom scrambled to his feet as a loud crash outside made the door to the room shudder. Chakotay staggered up after him, even as the door slid open and Tuvok and Harry Kim ran into the room, holding phaser rifles.

Immediately Tuvok threw a phaser to Chakotay, as Harry threw one to Tom.

"Follow us," the Vulcan said, and jogged out of the room.

"Do you have the others?" Chakotay asked as he caught up to Tuvok, trying to ignore the uncomfortable sensation between his legs.

"They are already on their way to the shuttle, Commander," Tuvok replied.

Another five minutes of running through rocky, smoke-filled passages and they were out of the mountain and heading for the nearby shuttle.

Once they had strapped themselves in and Harry had launched the shuttle, Chakotay turned to Tuvok.

"What made you decide on an attack and rescue mission?" he asked.

"Captain Janeway found the Hoornsplat impossible to negotiate with," Tuvok replied calmly. "They didn't really seem to understand anything we said to them, and we got the impression that the lives of the away team were at risk in some way. They kept saying something about a penalty being paid in blood, so the Captain decided to go for a rescue operation."

_More likely lost her patience_ , Chakotay thought, imagining the effect the Hoornsplats style of conversation would have had on the Captain. He wondered if the Hoornsplat had said anything about the whole seed-sharing thing. He got the impression that they hadn't and now he would have to decide if he would omit yet another embarrassing incident from his report to the Captain. He rather thought it would be foolish to change this new habit now.

Finally, and with some trepidation, he risked a glance at Tom. He didn't really know how he'd feel if Tom had that hard, cold look in his eyes again. He smiled when he saw the heat in the gaze that met his.

Perhaps this time things would be different.


	5. Chapter 5

After his shift finally ended, Chakotay sat in his quarters trying to decide what to do. It had been a long afternoon – after he'd changed into his uniform and completed his half-truthful report to the Captain, he'd found himself completing her bridge shift. She'd wanted to go over the samples that they had managed to bring back from the surface of the moon with B'Elanna, and so Chakotay had sat on the bridge and deliberately kept his mind as blank as possible. Because he knew he'd be in trouble if he let his mind dwell on what had happened on the Hoornsplats moon. Luckily Tom Paris had been off-duty.

And now here he was, finally able to let himself think about Tom Paris, and he just did not know what he should do about the pilot. He couldn't deny that he was now fiercely attracted to Tom, and he really, really wanted to act on it - but would that be the right thing to do? Because while it seemed that Tom returned the attraction, Tom had also expressed his reluctance about getting involved with men, and Chakotay had never been the type to push anyone into something they didn't want. Besides, he wasn't entirely sure how far he wanted this thing with Tom to go either.

His thoughts were interrupted by his door chime and he automatically got up and keyed open the door. Somehow, he wasn't at all surprised when Tom Paris wandered into his quarters and sat down slowly on one of Chakotay's couches. Chakotay looked at him for a moment – Tom wasn't meeting his eyes – and then drifted over to the couch opposite Tom, sat down, and waited.

"I've been thinking," Tom said eventually. "You know, our luck's going to finally run out and we're actually gonna have to do one of these… uh… performances."

"And you're thinking that maybe we should have a rehearsal," Chakotay prompted after an extended silence, and already he could feel his pulse rate speeding up at the idea.

Tom nodded and finally looked at Chakotay with a faint smile on his lips. "It's one way of dealing with stage fright."

Chakotay laughed and Tom's smile widened.

"Are you sure?" Chakotay asked. He kept his voice light but he was serious about the question and he could see that Tom knew it.

"Sure enough," Tom grinned, "that I prepared the holy oil." He reached into his pocket and held up a tube of lubricant.

Chakotay laughed again and reaching over to the environmental controls he dimmed the lights and increased the temperature.

"Is that a yes?" Tom asked softly.

Chakotay stood, unzipped his uniform, and smiled as his saw Tom's eyes widen.

"That is most definitely a yes," he replied, because, hey, they were two adult men and sometimes a man just had to think with his dick. He wasn't going to apologize for that.

He continued to undress as Tom sat on the couch watching him with a mixture of surprise and desire. Chakotay smiled to himself. He knew that because he was a very private person, people often assumed that he would tend towards prudishness as well, but the truth was he'd always been very comfortable with his own body and he had no problem with showing it off, in the appropriate circumstances.

"Enjoying the show?" he asked, amused.

Tom's eyes slid up to his and he nodded.

"Yeah," he whispered, and his tongue slipped out to wet his bottom lip.

"You're a tease," Chakotay said softly. "Come over here."

He held out a hand, and Tom stood up and took it, allowing Chakotay to tug him gently forward. Their lips met in a kiss that was heated, but strangely gentle, almost tender, and Chakotay could feel himself beginning to melt into it.

He reached up and tugged at Tom's uniform zipper, and moved his lips to Tom's ear.

"This works better if we're both unclothed, don't you think?" he whispered, running his hand over Tom's rather nice ass.

Tom made a noise somewhere between a whimper and a groan and began to undress himself in an enthusiastic way that made Chakotay feel very flattered. When he was done, they both dropped to the floor, their mouths meeting in a kiss that was no longer gentle.

And it felt pretty much perfect, Chakotay thought hazily, as he ran his hands over Tom's warm, smooth skin. He could feel Tom's hands on his back, his fingertips digging into his skin, his short nails scraping bluntly, and Chakotay arched his back and gasped.

Then Tom pressed the tube of lubricant into Chakotay's hand.

Chakotay broke their kiss and smiled down at Tom. "Are you in a hurry?"

"I think we've had enough foreplay over the last few weeks, don't you?" Tom replied, his face flushing. "And I think I'm getting paranoid about interruptions."

"Hmm, I can't argue with that," Chakotay said, as he flipped the lid on the tube and coated his fingers.

"I just want to finally feel you. For real." Tom was blushing and his voice caught as Chakotay pressed a finger against him.

"For real?" Chakotay asked.

"I told you I'd practiced," Tom whispered, obviously trying to suppress a smirk. "I didn't tell you I'd thought about you while I was doing it."

Chakotay's vision blurred for a moment as a wave of heat rose in his body. "Tom," he said. "You are _really_ good at the flirting and teasing."

Tom laughed softly, but when Chakotay finally pushed a finger inside him, his back arched and Chakotay swallowed Tom's moan with a deep kiss.

Things were a little heated and messy after that. Chakotay suspected that they were both possibly too eager; he probably should have given Tom more time to adjust before he got three fingers into him, but other than a couple of pained gasps and a clenched fist in Chakotay's hair, Tom didn't seem to mind. Luckily, he seemed to have used plenty of lubricant, because it was everywhere, even on the carpet and the couch beside them.

They were kissing deeply, tongues sliding together in the most, well, _obscene_ way that Chakotay had ever experienced. Tom was pushing down onto Chakotay's fingers and moaning into his mouth when he finally pulled his lips away from Chakotay's and found his ear.

"C'mon," he breathed, in a pleading tone that made Chakotay's brain melt. "Fuck me before I go crazy."

"Yeah," replied Chakotay and his voice sounded as raw as it felt. He pulled Tom up and then pushed him forward over the seat of the couch and nudged his thighs apart with his knee and, yes, he was manhandling Tom again, but if Tom didn't mind, why should Chakotay worry about it. And Tom really didn't seem to mind if the noise he made when Chakotay tugged his hips back and lined himself up with Tom's rather nice ass, was anything to go by.

He'd got about an inch of his cock inside Tom before Chakotay's brain caught up with the fact that Tom was so tight, so very, very tight… and also hot, really hot. He froze for a moment, trying to stop his fingers from digging into Tom's hips. He could see the trembling in Tom's thighs, and reached under him to grip his flagging erection, and Tom pushed back against him.

"Okay?" Chakotay breathed and he saw Tom nod.

"Yeah."

Then he was all the way in and that felt way too good to stay still. His hips snapped back and suddenly he was thrusting into Tom, deep and hard.

" _Oh god_ … _uh…. Chakotay_ ," Tom groaned, stretching forward to hold the back of the couch and using it for leverage in what Chakotay felt was an inspired moment of sheer brilliance.

The next few minutes were a blur of sensation and sound. The tight, hot, friction of Tom's body, his breathless gasps and moans, and Chakotay could not take his eyes away from where his cock sank into Tom over and over again. Six weeks ago he could never have imagined that he would be fucking Tom Paris on the floor of his quarters but he had to admit, he was so very glad that he was.

"You feel so fucking good," he told Tom, trying to get even deeper as he pulled Tom's hips back.

Tom made a strangled, gasping noise that sounded like he might be trying to laugh.

"I love it when you swear," he said, breathlessly. "And I'm gonna come all over your couch."

Chakotay grinned. "I don't give a damn about the couch."

"Are you saying," Tom said, and then groaned as Chakotay made a particularly forceful thrust, "that my ass is more important than your couch?"

"Your ass is rather nice," Chakotay said, reaching forward and running his hand along Tom's arching back. "In fact, it's amazing. You're amazing." For a moment, Chakotay felt a little foolish, because really, who in their right mind told someone that their ass was amazing, but he couldn't deny that he thought it was true.

Obviously he was losing his head again so he wasn't too surprised when, just as it had before on Boodarnagul, a tidal wave of heat swept through Chakotay, bringing with it a powerful surge of mindless lust and raw need. He pulled Tom back into his lap, relishing in the feeling of pressing even further into his body, and sank his teeth into Tom's shoulder.

" _Fuck_ ," Tom gasped, and his head lolled against Chakotay's. Chakotay splayed his hand on Tom's abdomen just above his straining cock, and sucked on his earlobe.

"You want me to touch you and make you come?" he whispered into Tom's ear, and grinned when Tom made a frantic, whimpering sound.

"I'll give you whatever you fucking want," he continued, because, hey, he could tease too. "Because I love your ass, I love fucking it," and a few hard thrusts emphasized his point.

"Next time some damned Delta Quadrant alien wants us to do this, I'm not gonna hesitate. I'm not gonna argue, I'll just do it. Even if they're standing right there in the room while I fuck you."

And, damn, how strange that in the heat of this moment he was getting himself even more worked up with those images, and he suspected that by the noises Tom was making that it was having the same effect on him, so Chakotay wasn't surprised when he saw Tom's hand start to pump his own erection. Chakotay reached down and tangled his hand with Tom's until they were stroking together.

The pressure was building in Chakotay when he felt Tom's body clench in orgasm. He looked down and saw that, indeed, Tom was coming all over the couch in front of him, and that was all it took for Chakotay to follow Tom into a release that made his skin burn and tingle and his heart almost thump out of his chest. He struggled for breath as it continued on, overwhelming and utterly fantastic.

When he finally became aware of his surroundings again, his arms were still wrapped tight around Tom's waist. Tom was leaning forward on the couch, his head resting limply on his hands, and breathing deeply.

"That was… uh… intense," Tom finally whispered.

"That was _fantastic_ ," Chakotay said.

"It was certainly a successful rehearsal," Tom replied.

Chakotay pressed a kiss to Tom's back and pulled himself free of Tom's body. He was starting to realize just how bruised his knees felt and when he struggled to his feet they cracked loudly.

He laughed, still rather breathless.

"Next round on the bed, I think," he said, flopping onto a clean part of the couch.

"Next round?" Tom asked, sounding hopeful in a way that made something tighten in Chakotay's chest.

Tom still hadn't looked up and Chakotay reached out and ran a hand through his hair. Then he gripped his arm and tugged gently and Tom finally moved, slumping onto the couch beside Chakotay.

"Well, you never know," Chakotay replied, rubbing his hand along Tom's thigh. "One day they might want the light one to plant his seed in the dark one and I believe in being prepared for all eventualities."


	6. Epilogue

"I could not believe my ears," Captain Janeway said as she paced the floor in front of Chakotay and Tom Paris. "In fact I was in such a state of disbelief that I told the Treedle Chief Minister that I thought it could not possibly have happened. Imagine my feelings when he showed me the security footage."

She stopped pacing and glared at Chakotay although, he noted as his face heated, her eyes did not meet his. Beside him, Tom shifted nervously.

"The Treedle Chief Minister and his staff were scandalized, and with good reason. You've behaved absolutely disgracefully and, as far as I can tell, with no provocation or encouragement to do so. The Treedle Government has demanded our immediate departure and so I've had to bring everyone back from shore leave. We're lucky they didn't demand the return of the supplies they gave us."

She had started pacing again and Chakotay could tell she was working herself up to an impending explosion that would be both spectacular and painful. For them.

"I did not even know that the two of you were romantically involved and I cannot fathom why you would suddenly decide to abandon your discretion in such a public and offensive display."

Captain Janeway's face was now flushed and furious and she was waving her hands in the air emphatically.

_Here it comes_ , thought Chakotay, and winced.

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?" she suddenly roared, and then took a deep breath, obviously attempting to calm herself.

Chakotay risked a quick glance at Tom and saw the expression of apologetic guilt that Tom directed at him, but really Chakotay thought, he was as much to blame as Tom, actually more so.

He watched the Captain pace the floor silently and wondered how on earth, after all of the false reports he'd made in the last few weeks, he could possibly explain the terrible assumption that they had made.

* * *

_They had continued their rehearsals regularly over the last couple of weeks and so when Voyager had reached the planet of Treedle and had negotiated a trade agreement that included shore leave, they had automatically taken theirs together._

_They had been in a bar, drinking real alcohol, and Tom had been whispering increasingly filthy things into Chakotay's ear and eventually he'd been unable to take anymore. He'd dragged Tom from the bar and they had crossed through a park as a shortcut to their lodgings._

_In the park, they had become distracted and Chakotay had to admit that it was his fault that they had ended up lying on a patch of grass, their mouths fused together in a heated kiss. After a few moments of this they had been loudly interrupted._

" _You have trespassed on the Sacred Sward."_

_Chakotay had looked up to see a couple of Treedles standing on the path nearby and he'd risen to his feet dragging Tom, who was giggling softly, with him._

" _I'm very sorry," he'd said, valiantly resisting the temptation to join Tom in laughter. "We'll leave immediately."_

" _You can't leave," said one of the Treedles in a snippy voice that Chakotay had found strangely amusing. (In hindsight, he felt that it had probably been the alcohol.)_

" _Oh?" he'd enquired, politely._

" _You can't leave until the Sacred Sward has been repaired. You must spill the seed immediately."_

" _Spill the seed?" Tom had said, followed by a soft hiccup. "Did you say seed? We know all about seed."_

_By this time quite a crowd had gathered on the path and Chakotay had waved to them politely, and felt quite hurt when none of them had waved back._

" _Well," said the Treedle. "Good. I'm glad to hear it. Because if you don't spill the seed properly there will be serious repercussions."_

" _Yup, we know," Tom had responded, while Chakotay had nodded solemnly beside him. "We don't spill the seed, you blow us up."_

" _Er…" The Treedle had looked slightly confused, but still stern, and Tom had continued._

" _Absolutely no problem. We got this, right Chakotay?"_

_Tom had given him a beautiful smile and Chakotay had returned it rather hazily. Then he'd dropped to his knees, unfastened Tom's trousers and pulled his delicious cock into his mouth. (And in hindsight, he had to wonder what the hell had been in those drinks.)_

_There had been a moment of silence and then there had been a loud scream and then a lot of yelling. Chakotay had released Tom and looked up in annoyance (because he'd been really enjoying Tom's breathy moans and the hand creeping into his hair) and that was when he had seen the uniformed Treedle standing on the path holding a large clear container of what looked suspiciously like grass seeds._

* * *

Captain Janeway had stopped pacing and was now staring at them with a mixture of controlled fury and disbelief and Chakotay knew that she was expecting him to explain but he just could not think of anything to say.

Beside him Tom cleared his throat. "Captain, the whole thing was just a bit of a misunderstanding… a miscommunication…" he faltered and fell silent when the Captain snorted.

"Really, Lieutenant, _really_ , is that what it was? Perhaps you could explain to me how a simple request of ' _please_ _keep off the grass_ ' could possibly translate into ' _please have oral sex in front of us right now'_. Explain that to me, Lieutenant."

"Um…" said Tom, and that was when Chakotay made his decision. He was finally going to tell the Captain the truth.

He reached out and took Tom's hand and saw the Captain's eyes widen.

"Captain," he said, "we were intoxicated. Well… absolutely blind drunk actually. We... ah, haven't been together for very long and we got carried away-"

"You bet you did, Mister," the Captain interrupted, her hands on her hips. "Do you realize that because of your actions the Sacred Sward will have to be dug up, the ground re-blessed, and then replanted with special seeds? You should think yourselves very lucky that you only had to spend the night in the Treedle prison and pay a fine, which I might add, will be deducted in kind from your replicator rations."

"Yes," Chakotay agreed. "The Treedle have been very understanding, and I can only apologize again."

The Captain sighed and Chakotay could tell that she was finally running out of steam. "I'd strongly recommend that neither of you ever touch real alcohol again."

"Once again, Captain, I can only apolo-"

"Oh, get out of my sight," the Captain interrupted, waving a hand at them irritably. "You'll both be pulling some doubles this week, I can tell you."

Chakotay nodded and quickly left the room, Tom walking swiftly beside him, and it wasn't until they got into the turbolift that he realized he was still holding Tom's hand.

He continued to hold Tom's hand as they exited the turbolift, walked along the corridor and entered Chakotay's quarters.

Once inside, Chakotay turned to Tom. "I should probably apologize to you, as well," he said rather sheepishly. "After all I'm the one who… well, yes."

Tom shook his head and his eyes glinted with amusement. Chakotay could see his lips trembling.

"Don't you dare," he said to Tom, severely.

The warning had no effect and Tom collapsed on the floor, laughing loudly. Chakotay sniffed, but couldn't stop himself from watching the pilot with amusement.

"That really was very humiliating you know," he finally said.

Tom took a deep breath and looked up at Chakotay. "I know," he said. "And I'm sorry, it was for me too, but I just…"

"All that rehearsal," Chakotay sighed, "and this happens."

And then Tom stopped laughing, and stood, his eyes searching Chakotay's with a vulnerability that Chakotay did not like.

"Do you think we should stop? Because I realize… I mean after all this… well, I wouldn't-"

And there was Tom babbling again, Chakotay thought, fondly, as he reached out and took Tom's hand.

"Absolutely not," he interrupted, firmly and with as much reassurance as he could put into his voice, because he'd figured out a while ago why Tom hadn't wanted to fall in love. It was simply the age-old fear of rejection, of not being wanted, and yet he had been the one to come to Chakotay, so Chakotay wasn't going to let him go now.

"But, I have to warn you," he continued, "I'm falling in love with you."

Tom's eyes lit up. "That's fine with me," he said, leaning forward and placing a kiss gently on Chakotay's lips. "I've already fallen."

 

 

THE END


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